2021 Volkswagen Passat Sel Tdi S-A: MOT pass rate and reliability
88.9% of 2021 Volkswagen Passat Sel Tdi S-As pass the MOT first time, measured across 234 DVSA tests on that model year alone. The average one had covered 54,063 miles.
How the 2021 compares
- Against all Volkswagen Passat Sel Tdi S-As (90.2%, 1,850 tests): -1.3 points
- Against all 2021 cars (90%): -1.1 points
- National first-time pass rate, all cars and years: 77%
Every Volkswagen Passat Sel Tdi S-A model year
Pass rates fall as cars age, so the only fair comparison for a 2021 car is other cars of the same age. The full run for the Volkswagen Passat Sel Tdi S-A:
| Year | Pass rate | Tests | Avg mileage |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | 89.5% | 373 | 73,722 |
| 2020 | 90.6% | 1,232 | 56,994 |
| 2021 | 88.9% | 234 | 54,063 |
What this means if you are buying a 2021 Passat Sel Tdi S-A
The 2021 sits close to the Volkswagen Passat Sel Tdi S-A average, so there is no strong model-year signal either way. Judge the individual car on its own history. Check the exact car with the free MOT history checker before you buy, and run its VIN and mileage through our free VIN decoder and clocking check.
What a 5-year-old car fails on
A 2021 car is 5 years old now, and age drives the failure mix more than the badge does. Across all cars tested, these are the categories that actually cause failures:
- Lights and electrical: 10.36% of all cars tested
- Suspension: 8.65% of all cars tested
- Tyres: 6.23% of all cars tested
- Brakes: 6.1% of all cars tested
- Visibility: wipers, washers, glass: 4.65% of all cars tested
- Body, chassis and structure: 3.18% of all cars tested
That is around average, so condition and service history will tell you more than the odometer does. On a 2021 Volkswagen Passat Sel Tdi S-A the average at test was 54,063 miles, so treat anything far above that as a car that has worked harder than its peers, and anything far below as one worth checking for the faults that come from standing still.
The strongest year for this model is 2020 at 90.6%, and the weakest in our data is 2021 at 88.9%. That 1.7 point spread across the model's life is why comparing a 2021 car against a newer one tells you very little.